The Ones Who Love Us
by eshadlow
Summary: Hermione draws back Harry's invisibility cloak once more. Inspired by the POA movie.


Title: The Ones Who Love Us

Author: Eden

Email: eshadlowiprimus.com.au

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, JKR does.

Notes: Inspired by the scene in the snow in the POA movie.

Muse-ic: 'Cannonball' and 'Volcano' by Damien Rice.

The ground beneath her feet is firm and dry; the soft summer grass showing barely a trace of her footfalls.  The air is warm as it blows past her bare shoulders, but an involuntary shudder still passes through her body, causing her to rub her hands absent-mindedly on her arms in an attempt to banish the chill.

How different is this day from that winter afternoon many years ago when the wind had been kept at bay by woollen hats and scarves, and the snow beneath their feet had left a clear path for them to follow.

Not that she needs a path anymore; she could find him with her eyes closed. 

To anyone watching from within the house, it appears as though she is wandering aimlessly and alone through the garden.  Only she knows that she is most definitely not alone.

As she moves further towards the back of the yard, she can clearly hear the sounds of muffled tears echoing from within the dense bushes at the rear of the yard; the sniffling sounds dragging her mind back once again to that wintry day in Hogsmeade when she'd realized her heart was gone forever.

It had been obvious from the rate at which Harry's footsteps had lead away from The Three Broomsticks that he had seen or heard something upsetting.  She had grabbed Ron and followed him quickly, worried about what could have happened to cause Harry such distress.  They'd followed his footsteps in the snow all the way through the town and out to the edges of the forest, where they'd finally stopped next to a rock.

Hermione remembers vividly the way her heart lurched when she'd heard the sound of crying echo across the empty clearing.  She'd immediately made a step towards the source of the sound, ignoring Ron's attempt to hold her back.  The footprints in the snow had given her a guide as she followed them towards the source of the sniffles.  She'd crouched down in the snow beside the rock, reaching her hand towards Harry.  It had only taken her a moment to find him and pull off his cloak to reveal his hunched form.

Despite the fact that she had heard his muffled crying, the tears on his cheeks had startled her.  When he'd turned his face to meet hers, the hurt and sadness in his eyes was so intense that it had caused her physical pain.  She'd wanted to reach out and take away all his pain, but she knew she couldn't.

That day she'd realized how much she would give to ensure his happiness; and nothing has changed now.

She has managed to narrow down the source of the crying to a stone bench at the very back of the garden, underneath the large oak tree.  She makes her way over, confident that she has found him.

Hermione crouches down next to the bench as elegantly as possible with her added bulk before reaching over and grasping a handful of the silky material.  She gently tugs on the cloak, pulling it gently down and off, startled to find him not alone. 

"Jacob, Ebony," she says causing the small figures hiding underneath lift their bowed heads in surprise; their piercing green eyes look up at her, glistening with tears.

"What are you two doing out here?" Hermione asks her children gently as she reaches out a hand to wipe a tear off of Ebony's cheek.  The little girl climbs from her big brother's lap and moves down next to Hermione, wrapping her arms around her mother as she buries her face into her neck.  Hermione runs her hand through her daughter's black, unruly curls and turns back to face Jacob.  "What are you doing with your dad's cloak?"

"We wanted to be alone," Jacob explains.  "Dad told me he used to hide under here when he wanted to be alone."

"Everyone inside is wondering where you are," she tells him. 

"I don't want to see them," Jacob says defiantly.  "They all keep telling me how wonderful dad was and how they know how much I miss him."

"What's wrong with that?" Hermione asks. "They all love him, and you.  They just want you to know that."

"I know," Jacob sighs and blinks back new tears.  "But none of them really understand."

"Understand what, sweetheart?"

"How much it hurts," Jacob tell her as his face crumples with a fresh batch of tears.  With a sob he breaks down and Hermione struggles up from her perch on the ground to sit next to him, Ebony still clutching desperately at her neck.  

"Shh, baby," she tells Jacob as she places one arm around him, rocking both her children slowly in her arms as her own tears slip silently down her cheeks.  "It's going to get better, I promise you."

"But how?" Jacob asks, as only a 10-year-old can.  "How can it get better if Dad's never coming back."

Hermione sighs and leans down to kiss his head, unable to find the right words to say.  Truthfully, she wants desperately to do nothing more than to fall apart.  She wants to yell and scream and cry, curse the world; and curse the man she loved for leaving her and her children like this.  Leaving them to try and live life without him. 

But she can't and won't do any of those things.  Instead, she must pluck up all of her courage and concentrate on her children and how much she loves them; use them to remind her every day of the wonderful moments she and Harry had in their life together.  And she must help her children to remember those moments as well, and not allow them to get lost in their grief.

"Well, the three of us just have to stick together," Hermione tells her children. 

"Four of us," Ebony mumbles against her neck and Hermione smiles as she involuntarily places her free hand on her rounded belly. 

"Yes, of course.  The four of us.  You guys and me and this new baby need to be a team from now on.  We have to help each other to get better."

"How?" Jacob asks, looking up at Hermione as he wipes his nose of the sleeve of his suit. 

"By reminding each other every day of how much we love each other," Hermione tells her children softly.  "By leaning on each other and supporting each other when we get sad.  By making sure that this new baby knows how wonderful Daddy was, even though he or she is never going to meet him."  She pauses for a moment to catch her breath, a sob getting caught in her throat.  "Your Daddy once told me that the ones who love us never really leave us.  To make sure of that, we need to tell ourselves and each other every day about all the things we loved about Daddy; we need to make sure that we never, ever, ever forget anything about him."

Hermione hugs both children tightly against her, drawing comfort from their presence.  "It's so hard though," Jacob tells her.  "I just want him to come back to us."

"Oh sweetheart, I know you do.  I do too.  But he's not coming back, and unless we all stick together to help move on we're never going to be able to be happy in our lives.  Do you want that?"

"No," Jacob says truthfully.  "I don't."

"You two know that your Dad loved you more than anything else in this world," the children nod.  "Then when you're feeling sad or angry or you miss him, just remember how much he loved us."  She looks at each of her children in turn, watching as they nod in understanding.  "And remember always how much I love you too."  The three of them pull together for a group hug, Hermione kissing first Jacob's soft brown head and then Ebony's.  They sit like that for a few minutes, allowing Hermione enough time to catch her breath and stem the flow of her own tears.

Finally, Jacob pulls away from her, rubbing one last time at his face.  Ebony unwraps her arms from Hermione's neck and moves to sit beside her on the bench.  "So," Hermione says to them.  "Are you ready to go back inside and see everyone?"

"Yeah," Jacob answers.

"Yes Mummy," Ebony agrees.

"Well then, we'd better go in."  Hermione stands, taking each of her children by the hand.  Together, the walk through the garden and back into the house, ready to face life without their husband and father.   


End file.
